Life on the beach at Parker River National Wildlife Refuge and occasional other birding adventures and, of course, piping plovers.

Monday, November 5, 2012

Chadwick Mill

I've been branching out a little from my plan to explore a tiny piece of segment 3 of the Bay Circuit Trail every day to exploring a tiny piece of North Andover or Boxford every day. Today's goal was the Chadwick Mill site in Boxford. I drove right past the trail head on Main Street across from Anvil Farm. Once I reversed direction, I had no trouble spotting the dirt road to Hovey's Pond. Today's hike was tiny even compared to my "tiny piece" goal -- basically a 1 mile loop -- which is good because it was getting late in the afternoon and the clouds were closing in.

Hovey's Pond

There's parking in a dirt lot at Hovey's Pond along with an information kiosk that's kind of in disrepair.

Milkweed

Tons of milkweed pods on both sides of the dirt road had just opened and the seeds were blowing in the wind.

Which Way?

The trail markers at the junction of the dirt road from Hovey's Pond with Main Street were a little confusing. I had to consult my Boxford Trail Guide to make sure which way led to the mill.

Must Be This Way

The marker across the street was unambiguous. The trail is not actually shaped like an oak leaf. That's the BTA/BOLT logo.

Looks Millish to Me

After a short walk along a really easy trail near the stream, I spotted stone walls. This must be the place.

Chadwick Mill

Sure enough, there on the other side of the stone wall is an old mill stone and an obvious sluice way. I'd have thought that after Superstorm Sandy there would've been more of a flow of water over the falls. Maybe there was such flow last week.

Mill Stone

A flock of dark-eyed juncos surrounded me as I took various photos of the mill remains. They sound so merry when they're all chipping in the bushes. A few robins and a blue jay showed up too.

Bird Silhouette

The path back toward Hovey's Pond afforded nice vistas of Anvil Farm.

Anvil Farm with Gathering Clouds

It was too late in the day to explore the Anvil Farm trail, so it was back to the car for me after my grist mill explorations.